


The Blue Beast and the Stray

by robolife



Category: Naruto
Genre: (mainly because I don't really know who all will show up), Alternate Universe, Characters Added As They Appear - Freeform, Gai is a vigilante superhero kind of dude, Gen, IT'S GAY, Kakashi is a cat burglar, M/M, Vigilante AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-11-08 08:52:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11078202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robolife/pseuds/robolife
Summary: Maito Gai had taken up the mantle of The Blue Beast six months ago and so far his nightly crime stopping exploits had been successful and appreciated. He was keeping the city safe, as best he could. So why was it so hard to stop one cat burglar?





	1. Rivals of sorts

Gai bit back a frustrated curse as he turned the corner and the burglar he had been chasing was nowhere to be seen. What was the point in putting on the mask and becoming The Blue Beast if he couldn’t even stop one burglar? Granted, this specific criminal did seem to be outstandingly good at what he did,  _ and _ Gai had stopped countless other vagrants that were committing crimes that were technically worse.

 

Still, it was incredibly annoying. 

 

On the way home he stopped five muggings and three robberies, and hoped in a petty way that burglar saw.

 

It had started a couple of weeks ago- Maito Gai had been prowling Konoha streets and taking down criminals under the mantle of “The Blue Beast” for almost half a year now, and he was proud of it, he’d even been vital in hostage situations and helped the authorities locate city-wide bombs. He was  _ good _ at what he did, and he did it while keeping up a day job- that was impressive! He was making the most of his vitality, of his youth! So when he first saw a flash of white hair on a person completely clad in black, he’d figured, hey, easy enough.

 

Wrong. 

 

The first time Gai tried to stop the thief he’d made it as far as following him to the building before he was suddenly thrown onto his back and was given a wonderful view of the sky. Then a face had appeared, two mismatched and mischievous eyes glittering down at him in contempt, framed by silvery hair that reminded him of starlight. 

 

Gai would later blame his waxing poetic on the fact that he was still struggling to get his breath back, so he was lightheaded. (He really didn’t believe that, but denial never hurt in these circumstances.)

 

The face had then scoffed, flicked his forehead (it hurt Gai’s pride more than anything), and disappeared from view. He was in the house before Gai managed to get up. 

 

After that it sort of became routine; Gai would spot him and follow, sometimes they would fight, sometimes the thief would give him the slip. Other times, surprisingly, the thief would stop, flick Gai a two fingered salute, and go off into the night without another word. 

 

Now, however, Gai was getting frustrated. It wasn’t much of a challenge if the thief- dubbed “Konoha’s Stray” by the media- just left each time. He did this to take criminals off the streets! Granted, the Stray didn’t really…  _ do _ anything harmful to people who couldn’t handle it but still, it was the principal of the thing. He swore he would at least catch the man, if only to ask him  _ why _ . 

 

…

 

He was going to, this time, he even followed the Stray into the house, except…

 

Except the silver haired man who had become both the bane of his existence and his most interesting adversary was currently scratching the guard dog behind the ears and murmuring to it under his breath. 

 

Gai looked up to the roof, as if he could look past it straight to the heavens, straight to God, and mentally asked,  _ Why am I tested like this _ .

 

That was when the Stray looked up and somehow, despite most of his face being obscured, exuded such a smug air that Gai wasn’t sure if he wanted to leave or deck the cheeky bastard without preamble. The choice was made for him when the dog stood up on it’s hind legs, placed one paw on each of the Stray’s shoulders, and planted a slobbery kiss on the side of his head. Gai held his breath, waiting to see what was going to happen and trying not to laugh. The other man seemed to be doing the same thing before his shoulders started shaking.

 

“Are you crying?” The words were out before Gai realized, and all he got in response was a snort as the Stray resumed petting the dog, rewarded with more slobbery licks and a vigorously wagging tail.

 

“I’m laughing, if you must know.” 

 

Now, Gai was an optimist, and he could romanticize life, but he never thought he was enough of a romantic to think he’d heard an angel when the criminal he’d been chasing spoke. Yet hear he was, smiling like an idiot while ‘Konoha’s Stray’ sat down on the ground and continued to laugh while an over excited guard dog wiggled around him. 

 

Then he realized two things: he’d finally caught up, and the alarm system had already been disabled. 

 

The Stray stood up, still patting the dog, and approached. Gai tensed, but all that happened was the other reached up and pat his cheek.

 

“Don’t worry, I won’t steal the diamonds.”

 

“Diamonds?” 

 

“I was going to, but I’ll take the dog instead.”

 

“You can’t just-”

 

“See you later.” 

 

And then he had the nerve to tug gently, almost affectionately at Gai’s ear before heading out, the dog following as if it was the most natural thing in the world. 

 

“What? You can’t just- leave.”

 

“You can watch if you want.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’ve been told it’s a nice view.”

 

Gai stuttered in outrage, following the criminal outside and into the alley, “No, I need to turn you in.”

 

“Oh, where’s the fun in that?”

 

“Fun?”

 

“Don’t you like a challenge?”

 

Damn, that had Gai stopping. He loved challenges, and he had to admit that trying to stop the Stray all the time was one of the best ones he’d faced. “You know,” Gai began, trying to place words to how he felt, “I think I’ve started seeing you as something more than just a criminal to stop.”

 

“I should hope so, I go through a lot of effort to make things entertaining- oh don’t look at me like that, continue with what you were saying.”

 

Gai sighed, he couldn’t believe he was saying it, “I think I see you as more like….a rival.”

 

“A rival?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Sounds good. Then try and catch me next time I actually steal something, rival.”

 

The Blue Beast let Konoha’s Stray go that night because he wanted a challenge. Gai let him go because the way he said ‘rival’ made his heart flutter and the corners of his lips curl up, and orange didn’t seem like his color. 

 

The dog seemed happy enough.


	2. 1,000 Push-ups

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next encounter between the Blue Beast and the Stray.

The next time Gai saw the Stray was three nights later, and he was sitting on a rooftop, apparently enjoying the night air. The Blue Beast approached, a little winded from thwarting a potential B&E (not much fun when they were so much easier than trying to stop the Stray) but none the worse for wear. Said criminal lazily turned his torso enough that his dazzling crimson eye landed on Gai and seemed to squint, which was as far of a smile Gai was going to get with most of his face covered. 

 

“Would you like a challenge,  _ rival _ ?” 

 

He asked, the word rolling off of his tongue and squirming through Gai’s body like a chill. That’s right, they were rivals. Gai couldn’t stop the small giddiness that settled in his stomach at the prospect of something that would be a challenge to him.

 

One problem though-

 

“How can anything be a challenge if you’re just sitting here?”

 

“Oh, you think because you can see me now, you can stop my- my what, nefarious plans?”

 

That tone was mocking. Gai could tell. He wanted to beat him to get rid of the smug air the Stray seemed to always carry with him.    
  
“Nefarious? I wouldn’t call taking someone’s dog nefarious. It is illegal though, and I must demand you return it.”   
  
“I’ll return Bull if you can predict where I’m planning on stealing from tonight- you don’t even have to successfully stop me, should be easy.”

 

Gai frowned, getting a good look of the other person’s smiling eyes, his tousled hair, his dark outfit that made him blend into the night, his way of sitting that made it seem like he was completely at ease while simultaneously on high alert. There was no way anything that had to do with Konoha’s Stray would be ‘easy’. Of course, that was what made it fun. 

 

“Of course I will! I need to stand for justice, and I would stop you no matter what! Don’t look at me with such disbelief, I am Konoha’s Great Blue Beast and I wear that name with pride!”

 

“Really? I don’t see the name anywhere on your costume, though.”

 

“You know what I mean!”

 

And there it was again, the silent movement that seemed like crying. The Stray turned, still laughing, looking back over the city,

 

“Sorry, sorry, you were giving a moving speech, go on?”

 

Gai pouted, for a moment, before regaining his composure and squaring his feet.

 

“I’ll predict where you are planning to go  _ and _ I will stop you, or I’ll do 1,000 pushups before sunrise!”

 

His rival’s head whipped around, genuine surprise in his eyes, the first time Gai had seen it. He looked Gai over, critical for a moment, before returning to the smile. It was less mischievous though, this time. It seemed happier. Gai decided he liked this smile better. 

 

“Well, if you’re willing to go to such lengths, I had better not slack- There’s ten more minutes before I leave this spot, think you can figure out where I’m going in that time?”

 

“Of course! That’s more than enough!”

 

Gai started pacing, trying to think. If he were a cat burglar what would he be out to steal? Last time the Stray had mentioned diamonds, so something with high monetary value. And he was usually in the neighborhoods that could handle that kind of burglary- not that Gai was condoning it. He seemed to steal from prominent public figures- ones who would make a fuss about it. Gai’s theory was the Stray liked to show off. 

 

So far Gai had: wealthy neighborhood, someone in the public’s eye, somewhere with a lot of security so the Stray could show off. That narrowed it down some, but not enough. 

 

What had he meant? Ten more minutes before he had to leave? What happened in ten minutes? Gai didn’t have a watch, but he was pretty sure it was around 10:15, 10:20 pm, nothing he knew of was happening in ten minutes. Maybe some sort of timer? Maybe a security system that reset every certain amount of time that would give the Stray a window to get in and out?

 

“You alright there? Looks like you’re close to leaking steam from your ears.”

 

Gai stopped his pacing and looked up, surprised, “What?”

 

“It just seems like you’re taking this very seriously.”

 

“Of course! There’s no joking about justice!”

 

“Alright, well, it’s been about eight minutes, you close to done yet?”

 

“What? Uh-”

 

“I’ll take that as a no,” The stray smirked- or his eyes seemed like he might have, “Tick tock, then.”

 

Gai stared, trying desperately to find some other piece of information that would give him a more concrete idea, some clue that would be the final variable. Maybe...the mayor was having a party tonight? No, he’d seen in the paper this morning the mayor had a big meeting tomorrow. Was a celebrity in town? No, there hadn’t been any posters around. What was it? What was it?

 

Gai startled when gloved fingers managed to snap in front of his face.

 

“Got it yet?”

 

Gai frowned- looks like it would be an educated guess then.

 

“Maybe…” 

 

Gai’s eyes wandered, looking for anything, 

 

“The...bank?” 

 

His eyes had landed on the familiar clock, lit up by lights at this time, of the oldest bank in the city. The Stray cocked an eyebrow and turned to follow Gai’s line of sight.

 

“Close, but no cigar, and time’s just about up.”

 

“Wait-” 

 

Gai tried to stop him, to get the answer, something, but just like that the Stray had jumped clear of the building. Gai ran, panic clutching him- there were no buildings around to jump onto, what was the Stray thinking- and there was a window washing station. It was quickly being lowered. And the criminal below waved up to him once, mockingly, before running off in the direction he had been looking. His heart hammered as he saw the figure blend into the city’s background and disappear. Then he looked up, and up, until he saw the dome.

 

“The museum?”

 

And Gai was off, running to the side of the building with a fire escape and scaling down in record time. He sprinted toward the museum- the Stray couldn’t beat his speed, no one could, he only beat him to places because he had the high ground and short cuts, but Gai knew the way to the museum. The only thing he couldn’t figure out, however, was why his rival would go to the museum in the first place. Up until now he’d seen him in mainly residential areas, albeit very wealthy ones. So why such a public place? Especially one that ran mainly on donations?

 

When he arrived, breathing heavy, in front of the museum he still hadn’t figured it out, and there was no sign of the Stray. There wasn’t a sign of anything, actually- the museum looked dead at night, and there wasn’t much night activity in the surrounding area. Had Gai been wrong? Had this not been the target.   
He got his answer when alarms suddenly started going off inside the building, and he heard a crash as a window was broken, followed by a body launching itself out of the new hole, rolling as it landed and standing up about ten feet from where Gai stood. His first thought was that the roll must have made that silver hair mucky. The second was that he didn’t have time to worry about a criminal’s hair. The third was that he should stop aforementioned criminal. Luckily, his body was about two thoughts ahead of his brain.

 

“Hey! Stop!”

 

The stray twirled around, running backwards, a case clutched against one side, free hand giving a two fingered salute before he turned back around.

 

“Lovely night, perfect for, oh, what was it, 1,000 push ups?” 

 

He called over his shoulder before running toward a side alley as sirens wailed in the distance- too far to be useful. 

 

“I can still stop you!”

 

“In about 30 seconds you won’t be able to.”

 

“How would you know?”

 

He yelled back, gaining on the (surprisingly fast) retreating figure. At least, he was gaining until the Stray jumped on a motorcycle that was quietly idling in the alley, hidden from view back on the street. The other man was already mounted and about to go when Gai got close.

 

“I’ll admit, I let a little of my window slip because you were thinking so hard.”

 

“What?”

 

“I thought it was cute.”

 

“What?!”

 

Those seemed to satisfy the Stray as parting words, though, and he mimed blowing a kiss before vanishing into the night as the approaching sirens drowned out the sound of the motorcycle's engine. Gai stared, disbelief shaping his features. That- that was it? The Stray was successful again and Gai was left confused? 

 

This better not be a trend. 

 

He stalked off to go get those 1,000 push ups done. After that he would figure out what was so valuable in the museum that the Stray would go against his usual pattern. At least tomorrow was his day off, so he wouldn’t have to go into work sore. 


	3. New Friends, Same Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gai makes some new friends during his morning run.

The next day Gai woke up sore, as he expected, and frustrated. He should have been able to figure it out- it seemed easy enough, in hindsight. Except it still didn't fit the Stray's MO of taking from people who would make a fuss of it publicly- compared to some places he'd robbed, the museum was severely lacking in that area. Sure, they would tell police, but that particular museum was mainly full of donated exhibits belonging to outside benefactors; it was more of a place to stage things for the public eye. If word got out about the break in, it wouldn’t seem safe to the donors. 

Gai sighed, getting up and beginning his morning stretches. Stewing over it wouldn't do him any good, and since he had the day off he figured he'd go for a run in the park, then maybe hit the gym, then see what had actually been stolen from the museum. He was sure that would give him the clue he needed to understand the theft, and take him that much closer to understanding (and stopping) the thief. Of course, that was if he could figure out what was stolen in the first place. He should his head, finishing his stretches and continuing to get ready for the day. A pair of green running shorts, matching green compression shirt, worn orange running shoes. He pocketed his phone, wallet, keys, grabbed a water bottle and some earbuds and headed out. 

The park, while not sprawling, was still very large, mainly small gentle slopes interspersed with trees, a few play structures for children, the periodic water fountain. It had paved pathways going through it, but Gai preferred to run on the grass next to them. He’d just finished his first lap around the outer edge- a warm up- and was stretching again in the grass when he heard a bark, then rustling, then something came bounding out of the bushes behind wear Gai was standing, crashing into his legs. 

The force wasn’t enough to make him move, but it did startle him enough that he jumped forward and turned around to the dog. It was a small pug, brown, floppy ears- it was wearing a blue… vest? There was some sort of face drawn on the back. Gai couldn’t see any collar or any other form of identification. The pug also seemed to be… looking at him angrily, somehow? Was that possible? Or was the dog’s face just that way?

He bent down, offering his hand.

 

“Hey, bud, where’s your owner?”

 

The dog sniffed his hand but didn’t seem too interested, plopping down on the grass and staring at him. Gai felt rejected, somehow. He frowned, looking around- no one was running up yet, had the dog gotten out of his house and come to the park? Then the dog barked again, startling him. It stood up, stretched, and trotted off down the path, around a bend and behind some more trees. 

Gai glanced around, hoping to find someone the dog may belong to- no luck. He followed, catching up to the dog who seemed to be ignoring him mainly, but looking back every now and then. Maybe… was it leading him somewhere? Maybe the dog’s owner was in trouble, or it wanted food and was leading him to where it normally received it? 

He couldn’t wonder anymore, because the dog barked, and a figure suddenly sat up from behind the bushes in front of them. A shock of white hair, a dark shirt, long sleeves, a...surgical mask? The person ran a hand through their hair and looked over to where the dog was already bounding up to them. Gai stopped, confused- the dog hadn’t gone in the same direction it had come from when Gai first saw it, did this person just let their dog roam around the park? Or was the dog trying to get the person some help? It was unusual to find someone sleeping in the bushes this early in the morning, after all.

Gai approached carefully, watching as the person scooped up the dog, petting its head, scratching behind its ears. The dog still looked grumpy, somehow, but its tail was wagging. That eased his worries for the dog, at least. He cleared his throat, getting the mystery person’s attention.

 

“Er...Are you alright?”

 

The person looked at him, squinted, then tilted their head. Gai gave a reassuring smile, still waiting for an answer. The pug also tilted its, and the image of the two was, admittedly, adorable. 

 

“...Yes? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, for one, you were apparently sleeping in the bushes,”

“So? I was taking a nap.”

“This early? Why not just sleep in?”

“Pakkun likes to be out and about bright and early, and it was his turn to come to the park.”

 

Gai assumed ‘Pakkun’ was the pug. Still, he wasn’t too reassured with that answer.

 

“Sleeping in the park can be dangerous, you know. And you shouldn’t let your dog run around off leash in public like that. What if he got into trouble?”

 

The person gave a huff- was that a laugh? And scratched the dog behind his ears, to which the dog responded by thumping his tail and closing his eyes. 

 

“You with the feds?”

“W-what? No?”

“You a cop?”

“...No? Uh, why are you asking?”

“No one but law enforcement cares that much about leash laws.”

“Well your dog barrelled into me, then led me here, and I thought he was hurt, or you were hurt, or anything else. And you really should keep an eye on your dog.”

“Alright, mom.”

 

Gai sputtered, this wasn’t how he expected his morning to go. Also, how was the other person keeping a constant, bored expression through it all? His confusion must have shown, because a moment later the mystery person waved their hand and laid back down. 

 

“Lighten up- look, Pakkun is highly trained, and he knows when he can cause trouble and when he can’t. He has yet to make a scene in the park, actually, and all the others at least have done so once or twice. Thanks for the concern, but really, this isn’t anything unusual for me.”

“Maybe it’s not unusual for you, but I just followed what I thought was a lost dog to find his owner sleeping in the bushes.”

 

That finally garnered a real laugh, and the mystery person finally stood up, running a hand through their hair again. They stuck a hand out, expression lighter, not bored anymore (Gai was grateful that all the nights of confronting the stray had made him better at reading people’s expressions through their eyes). 

 

“I’m Kakashi, sorry for disrupting your morning routine.”

 

Gai gave a big grin, grabbing Kakashi’s hand and shaking it enthusiastically,

“Good to meet you, I’m Gai.”

 

Gai let go of Kakashi’s hand, paused, then spoke again.

 

“It’s a nice disruption, by the way, I love meeting new people.”

 

Kakashi propped a hand on his hip, rubbing the back of his neck with the other. Pakkun huffed and flopped down, resting his head on Kakashi’s shoe.

 

“Then I guess you weren’t overly busy?”

 

“Not at all! I was stretching before my morning run, actually. You and Pakkun could join me, if you like.”

 

Gai smiled, hoping his new acquaintance would agree. He didn’t usually just invite people in the park to jog, but he still did sometimes. And Kakashi seemed interesting, if a little unsuited to being out in the park at this time of day. Kakashi seemed to pause at that, eyes widened a little in surprise. Pakkun even picked his head up. 

 

“You… want me to run with you?”

“Well, it’s always more enjoyable with a partner, and doubly so with another one with such a cute face!”

 

Gai considered adding  _ not to mention the cute dog _ , but he wasn’t sure exactly where that came from or why he wanted to say it. Maybe he wasn’t talking to enough normal people, it felt like the Stray’s flirtations were rubbing off on him. Kakashi gave a shut-eyed smile, laughing a little again.

 

“And the dog is a plus too, right?”

 

Before Gai could respond past blushing, Kakashi stopped, eyes wide, seeming to realize what he’d just said. 

 

“Ah, s-sorry… I’ve just woken up after all, no brain to mouth filter… I think I’ll take you up on your offer, though, as long as you don’t run too fast.”

 

Gai laughed and smiled again, 

 

“I never leave a man behind.”

 

After that, Gai finished his stretches and Kakashi did a few of his own. He was surprisingly limber; Gai would have expected the other man to be less fit, since he was taking a nap in the park. It wasn’t like he knew a lot about him, though, and Gai was happy to find his new running partner wouldn’t be dying by the end of a few laps. 

Unfortunately, he ran into another problem. On their first small break, after sitting down, Kakashi almost immediately started dozing. He woke up, but on the next break he did the same thing.

“You know, if this is really that tiring, you can stop.”

“Huh? Oh, no, just had a long night, is all.”

“And you still refused to sleep in?”

“What can I say, I love my dogs.”

 

Gai grinned, he had to admit it was endearing, the way Kakashi would run along with the pug, then immediately fall asleep. Most people would just sleep in and bring their dog to the park later. Most people also wouldn’t be able to run and then immediately fall asleep though, either. He was starting to learn that where most people did one thing, Kakashi seemed inclined to do another. 

 

“Well, if you’re that tired, why not rest, and Pakkun can run with me! I’m sure I’ll tire him out in no time.”

“Really? You’d do that? We’ve only just met.”

“Who am I to stand by while a friend needs to rest and not help him- even if it’s a new friend?”

“So we’re friends, then?”

“Of course! Unless… unless you’d prefer not to be.”

 

There was a moment of silence- had he done the wrong thing? Gai thought Kakashi was a good enough person, but maybe he didn’t trust as quickly. Then Kakashi shrugged, and lay back down on the grass.

 

“No, I think I’d like that, good luck with Pakkun, though, he’s got more energy than you’d think.”

 

Gai gave a thumbs up and beamed, then reached down to pat the dog. 

“Well, pup? Wanna race?”

 

Pakkun responded by darting off, making Gai laugh and chase after him, the both of them leaving Kakashi to doze off in the grass. 

 

\---

 

By the time they were done, both Gain and Pakkun were out of breath. It had been a productive run, though half the time Gai had to chase after Pakkun when the pug would go off the beaten path. Maybe he’d gotten turned around because of it, or he just didn’t have that great a memory, because now that they were looking… Gai couldn’t find Kakashi. Was he somewhere else? Had he wandered off? Did he go looking for them and now they were looking for each other but they were all lost?

Thankfully Pakkun broke him out of the spiral he was going into by giving a huffed yip and darting off. How did he still have so much energy? Where did the tiny dog keep it all? Gai, of course, ran after him, and before long they were rounding a corner and there was Kakashi. Very close. Gai swivelled so he didn’t run into the other man, and then swung his arms out so he didn’t lose balance and fall. All in all, not the best display of his reflexes. Kakashi, for his part, just stood there, one eyebrow raised. 

“Sorry, I would’ve caught you, but my hands were full.”

 

Gai blinked, then looked to see that, yes, Kakashi’s hands were full- he was holding two cups from a local café.

 

“I got a tea and a coffee, wasn’t sure which you’d prefer so I figured I’ll just drink the other one.”

 

Gai stared, then smiled in realization, grabbing the one labelled ‘tea’. 

 

“Oh! How much was it?”

“It’s a gift, Gai.”

“No, I insist I pay you back!”

“It’s a thank you for playing with my dog, just accept it.”

“Well, next time I’ll have to pay.”

“Next time?”

 

Gai looked to the side, a little embarrassed. Pakkun had flopped down again, finally looking exhausted. He watched Kakashi bend down pet the dog, pulling a water bottle out from his pocket (had he always had that?) and a collapsable bowl, pouring some out so Pakkun could drink.

 

“I mean...if there is a next time, of course. Serendipity, and all that.”

 

Kakashi looked up at him, eyes calculating for a moment, then they lightened and crinkled at the edges. He laughed. Gai blushed, just a little.

 

“I’d like there to be a next time, yes.”

 

Gai beamed, kneeling down and petting Pakkun.

 

“I’d like that too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long but we finally....get to see them interact as civilians you guys don't understand how pumped I am to finally have this chapter done. Anyways, it's a meet cute.


End file.
